E-cigarettes challenge interpretations of smoking bans

Taking a puff on an electronic cigarette isn't technically smoking, prompting some local businesses to allow customers to use the cigarettes indoors.

By Kate Elizabeth QueramKate.Queram@StarNewsOnline.com

Taking a puff on an electronic cigarette isn't technically smoking, prompting some local businesses to allow customers to use the cigarettes indoors. Others still prohibit their usage, which can make it difficult for smokers and nonsmokers alike to navigate the hundreds of bars and restaurants in New Hanover County."They're allowing electronic cigarettes now in most of the bars I've been to," said Nathan Garrison, sales associate at Vape Hut, a Wilmington store that sells e-cigarettes on site and via its website. "Restaurants usually don't mind. I'll usually ask first, but businesses are generally becoming more tolerant."Traditional cigarettes have been banned by law in bars and restaurants statewide since Jan. 2, 2010. But the legislation didn't specifically ban e-cigarettes, which were at that time a relatively new and much less popular technology. That loophole allows businesses to make their own rules governing their usage, meaning policies vary greatly from place to place.Sometimes, the differences are small and nuanced. For example, New Hanover County employees are permitted to smoke solely in designated outdoor smoking areas. That policy doesn't explicitly ban the usage of e-cigarettes indoors, but county workers aren't permitted to use them in the office."The interpretation that I received from human resources is that our policy covers the intent of smoking, which would include the use of e-cigarettes," said Charles Smith, a spokesman for the county. "If HR is comfortable with that interpretation, I don't foresee a change."A draft policy for city employees is more clear, banning outright the usage of e-cigarettes on city property during working hours. That rule is a precursor to a completely smoke-free city complex, a policy that, among other things, would require workers to clock out and leave city property before taking a smoke break."We don't want to pay employees for taking a break to smoke. It's public money, and we know if you're going to have to walk away, it's going to take time," said Malissa Talbert, a spokeswoman for the city. "Additionally, in an effort to keep our health-care costs down, we're looking at adding a surcharge for those who choose to continue to smoke. Within this next year, we're looking at providing various options to help those employees to stop smoking – counseling, smoking cessation classes and various other things."For some smokers, e-cigarettes can play a key role in quitting tobacco products altogether, as the technology allows users to gradually decrease the amount of nicotine being inhaled. "The highest nicotine strength is 24 milligrams, which is similar to a full-flavor cigarette," Garrison said. "We also carry a light strength, an ultra-light strength, a 6-milligram and a zero-milligram. It's still simulating smoking, but you're not getting any of the nicotine, so it's a good way for people to wean themselves off."But health-care professionals have warned against using e-cigarettes for that purpose, saying the technology isn't sanctioned as a legitimate way for smokers to quit. Last month, the federal Food and Drug Administration stated publicly that the widespread usage of e-cigs goes against measures designed to protect children from nicotine addiction and respiratory diseases, including asthma and cancer."It is opposed to the (Department of Health) goal to stop cigarette smoking and tobacco use," Dr. Kenneth Hartigan-Go, the FDA's acting director, said in a statement.Most e-cigs use a rechargeable, battery-operated heating element to vaporize the nicotine supplied by a replaceable cartridge. The nicotine is often dissolved in propylene glycol, a colorless liquid that's commonly used in medical inhalers. With no tobacco or smoke involved, use of the devices is known as "vaping," because users inhale the nicotine-laced vapor. E-cigs do contain some of the harmful chemicals associated with traditional tobacco products, but the levels are hundreds of times lower than those found in cigarettes, according to The Journal of Public Health Policy. Though smokeless, the electronic cigarettes release a vapor during usage - curling, odorless wisps without the harmful side-effects associated with secondhand smoke. The lack of danger to nonsmokers is a driving factor for some local businesses that allow patrons to vape indoors."Unless a customer really has a problem with it, which they haven't yet, I don't see there being that much of an issue with it," said John Cordell, co-owner of Reel Cafe in downtown Wilmington. "If it turns good customers away, it's up for discussion."Still, demand among smokers in southeastern North Carolina continues to grow. Vape Hut opened its first location in Monkey Junction three years ago, and saw enough repeat business to open a second store near Target in Wilmington two years later."We do a fair amount of online sales, and our overall customer base is probably around 10,000 in three years," Garrison said. "At least a few thousand of that are local people."